Men's Basketball

Transcription

1 Lowe's Senior CLASS Awards Criteria In addition to the core requirement that the candidate be a NCAA Division 1 senior, the finalists and eventual winner will be selected based on personal qualities that define a complete student athlete. These areas of excellence are defined under the categories of,, and. : academic achievements and successfully progressing in regards to earning a degree : attributes that define the candidate's personal character, including leadership skills, work ethic and integrity : involvement in community and charity activities, utilizing the candidate's status as a college athlete to make an impact in worthwhile causes : achievements within the athlete's respective sport and their role in the success of the team Men's Basketball Athletes: Matt Bouldin Da'Sean Butler Marquis Hall Luke Harangody Damion James Adam Koch Chris Kramer Raymar Morgan Jon Scheyer Josh Young

2 Matt Bouldin (Gonzaga University) Bouldin is an applied communication studies major at Gonzaga. Gonzaga head coach Mark Few commented on Bouldin's character. He states: "This is Matt's team. He is a leader by example, both on and off the court. He has the respect and trust of the players and the staff. Matt has worked hard every year to make himself better, both in the off-season and during the season, and the players take notice of the work ethic Matt brings every day. He's the consummate guard." Bouldin is involved with Coaches vs. Cancer and several branches of that program such as Camp Goodtimes, a weeklong summer camp for youngsters with cancer. He is also involved in visiting schools and the cancer wing of the local hospital. In addition, Bouldin is active in his hometown of Highlands Ranch, Colo., where he conducts clinics and works with local youth. Bouldin is a 2010 John R. Wooden Award mid-season list member and a finalist for the Bob Cousy Award for the nation's top point guard. He has been named to the All-West Coast Conference first team twice in his collegiate career. He was a member of the 2009 WCC All-Tournament team and was selected for the WCC All-Freshman team after his first season. In addition, Bouldin was tabbed to the 2009 NABC District 9 first team. Entering his senior season, Bouldin has scored 1,169 career points, which puts him 22nd on the Gonzaga all-time list.

3 Da'Sean Butler (West Virginia University) Butler boasts a 2.83 cumulative grade point average at West Virginia where his major concentrations include theater, communication studies and sociology. Expected to graduate in May 2010, he is a member of the Athletic Director's honor roll and would like to pursue a career in sports broadcasting. Outside of basketball, Butler is very ambitious about many endeavors and spends much of his free time writing books and screenplays in various genres. As part of his theater curriculum, he has acted in puppetry shows and worked behind the scenes for university theater productions. In addition, to help prepare for a career in sports broadcasting, Butler has participated in numerous media obligations where he speaks with national television announcers. Butler was selected as a team captain for his junior and senior seasons. This year, he was chosen by the Big East Conference to participate in a public service announcement regarding sportsmanship with a fellow Big East student-athlete. Also, he performed a similar service when he represented West Virginia University as a tobacco-free Mountaineer for the state-wide Razewv.com campaign. Butler has always been a very vocal leader both on and off the court and during a head coaching change at WVU, helped the team maintain a positive attitude during unsettling times. He was counted on as a leader last year with an extremely young team. Butler is the men's basketball representative for the Student-Athlete Advisory Council and served on the NCAA Steering Committee when WVU was going through the NCAA recertification process. Butler has been an active leader for community efforts throughout his four years at West Virginia. Annually, he visits local hospitals during the Christmas season and participates in Read Aloud days at area schools. Butler has been a part of the Coaches vs. Cancer initiative at WVU and is always willing to give an autograph or make an appearance for a worthy cause. This has been evident through efforts such as when Butler attended the Light the Night Walk for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society, spoke at the WVU scholarship dinner in Charleston, West Virginia, called university supporters at the annual Thank-A-Thon (calling and thanking supporters for their financial contributions to West Virginia University) and was a guest speaker for Camp Choosy at the West Virginia Motor Development Center. Butler is a member of the mid-season John R. Wooden Award list. He enters his senior season ranked 17th in school history in terms of scoring with 1,441 career points, and has registered 75 career double-figure scoring games with 14 of those games being 20-plus point affairs. Butler averages 13.3 points per game for his career. In addition, he ranks 10th in school history in career three-point field goals with 135 made. Butler played for USA Basketball at the 2009 World University Games in Serbia, where he averaged 8.6 points per game and led the USA team to a bronze medal finish. He was named second team All-Big East as a junior and was chosen by his teammates as team MVP that same year. Also, he led the Mountaineers in scoring as a junior at 17.1 points per game and was second in rebounding with 5.9 per game. Butler scored 43 points in a contest with Villanova, marking the most points by a Big East player in a league game since He has started

4 every game in the past two seasons. Butler played for Athletes in Action during the summer of 2008 in Taiwan and earned All-Big East Rookie honors as a freshman. Additionally, he has been named to the Big East Weekly Honor Roll seven times and was named Big East Rookie of the Week two times as a freshman. He has led West Virginia to an NIT Championship and two NCAA Tournament appearances during his career, including a spot in the Sweet 16.

5 Marquis Hall (Lehigh University) Hall was the 2009 Patriot League men's basketball Scholar Athlete of the Year, which was Lehigh's first-ever such recognition. He is a multi-year member of the Patriot League Academic Honor Roll and Dean's List. In addition, Hall is a 2009 ESPN the Magazine Academic All-District first-team selection and maintains a 3.60 grade point average. Hall is a three-year captain at Lehigh and is a multi-year member of the Student-Athlete Advisory Council. He is an active participant in leadership training in Lehigh's athletic department. Hall is a member of Lehigh University's COACH program, which focuses on community outreach, and serves on the committee board for the program. He travels to local elementary and middle schools to speak with students regarding honesty, hard work, leadership and education and also helps students with their homework. Hall has appeared in 89 career games and has started all but one of them. He enters his senior season with 1,151 points and 379 assists in his career. Hall was a 2009 first-team All-Patriot League selection. Additionally, Hall scored a season-high 28 points and gathered a career-best 15 rebounds in Lehigh's first-ever win over a Big East school. He was a 2008 second-team All-Patriot League selection and was named a 2007 Mid-Major All-American. Hall was also a Patriot League All-Rookie team selection and was the 2007 Patriot League Rookie of the Year. Hall scored his 1,000th career point against archrival Lafayette and has been name Patriot League Rookie of the Week nine times, including a league record eight straight weeks.

6 Luke Harangody (University of Notre Dame) Harangody currently holds a 2.84 grade point average and is enrolled in the College of Arts and Letters at Notre Dame. He is on track to graduate in May 2010 with a degree in American Studies and computer applications. Harangody is a first-class representative of Notre Dame and enjoys being a college student in South Bend, Ind. After entering his name in the 2009 NBA Draft and then withdrawing two months later to return for his senior year, Harangody noted that he just wanted to be a college student and finish what he started. Voted a tri-captain for the season, he is respected by his teammates and well liked by the Notre Dame community, especially the student body. Harangody takes time to sign autographs for all of his fans and especially enjoys spending time with young individuals. Harangody has been involved in several community service activities while at Notre Dame, including a basketball camp for local kids at Trinity Church, the annual Buddy Walk for children with Downs syndrome and the Walk for Diabetes. The leading vote-getter on the preseason AP All-America team, Luke Harangody returns to Notre Dame for his final season as one of the leading candidates for national player of the year honors and is on the mid-season John R. Wooden Award list. He became the first player in BIG EAST history to lead the conference in both scoring and rebounding in back-to-back seasons and was the only player a year ago to finish in the top 10 nationally in both scoring (23.3 points per game) and rebounding (11.8 rebounds per game). Harangody has a chance to conclude his career as the all-time leading scorer and rebounder at Notre Dame and in the BIG EAST Conference. He is on pace to become the first player in Notre Dame history to score better than 2,000 points and grab more than 1,000 rebounds in his career. Harangody's list of career awards is extremely long and consists of honors ranging from player of the game to All-America teams. Awards include being named BIG EAST Player of the Year in 2008 and a member of the John R. Wooden All-America team in 2008 and He was a second-team Associated Press All-American in 2009 and 2008 while also earning Dick Vitale All-America team and NABC District V first-team honors in Harangody was a first-team All-BIG EAST selection in 2008 and 2009, an Oscar Robertson Trophy finalist in 2009 and a member of the EA Sports Maui Invitational All-Tournament team in In 2009, he was named to The Sporting News' All-America third-team, FoxSports.com fourth-team All-America and Basketball Times All-Mideast team. In addition, Harangody was a first-team State Farm/NABC All-American in 2008 and a third-team member in He earned second-team NCAA consensus All-American honors and The Sporting News second-team All-American honors in Harangody gathered numerous awards in consecutive years during 2008 and 2009 including second-team United States Basketball Writers Association (USBWA) All-American, first-team USBWA District V and first-team NABC District 10. In 2008, he was a Basketball Times second-team All-American, CollegeInsider.com All-American, Rivals.com second-team All-American, CollegeHoops.net second-team All-American,

7 second-team ESPN.com All-American, second-team SI.com All-American, the winner of the Wendell Smith Award and a USBWA District V Player of the Year. Harangody has been a BIG EAST Player of the Week four times and a BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll member an impressive 10 times. Other honors include a spot on the Paradise Jam All-Tournament team in 2007 and being named a CBS Chevrolet Player of the Game after contests against George Mason (March 20, 2008) and Washington State (March 22, 2008). He was also the Notre Dame Best Rebounder Award recipient in Harangody's freshman season was also chalked full of awards. He was a member of the BIG EAST All-Rookie Team and was BIG EAST Rookie of the Week three times (weeks of November 20, 2006, January 2, 2007 and January 15, 2007). In addition, he was named to the BIG EAST Weekly Honor Roll the week of February 26, 2007 and the Rivals.com National Rookie of the Week the same week. Harangody won the Outstanding Freshman Award in 2007 as well.

8 Damion James (University of Texas) James is working towards his degree in education at the University of Texas. He was named first-team Academic All-Big 12 in and a second-team member in James is a four-time member of the Big 12 Commissioner's Honor Roll, which requires a 3.0 grade point average during a semester. James grew up in a less than ideal living situation in Nacogdoches, Texas, that would have left a long line of people broken and torn. Despite the turmoil and the drug trafficking that was going on around him every day, he kept himself out of harm's way. James surrounded himself with people who would assist him in his rocky life journey, and knowing when he needed help, James would turn to friends, coaches and even teammates to help him out and would even spend weeks at a time at a friend's house just so he was not exposed to the gang violence in his neighborhood. Since his arrival on campus in Austin three years ago, James has been a vital asset for the Longhorn basketball team. He does whatever possible to get players to come together and blossom into a tight-knit group. Former Texas star Kevin Durant states that, "he wanted the team to be a family--a family. It was something that was very important to him." After all, family is something that James did not have as a kid to celebrate a milestone or support him through tough times. The positive light that James shines on his teammates and coaches reflects on his parents, Katrina and Jerry, as well - both of whom have had legal troubles throughout James' childhood. James' positive outlook on life makes his mother want to be a better mother for her other sons and has inspired his father to start his own clothing line. The idea that James has the strong chance to become a daily name in the NBA next season seems like a far-fetched notion considering the life that James was handed as a child. But, one look at James and the average fan will know that James has what it takes to make a difference on the court and more importantly in the lives of other individuals. During the past two seasons, James has volunteered at O'Henry Middle School, assisting the students and the school to identify leadership skills in students and promote the effective development of these skills. He has also visited Habbi's Hutch, Sanchez Elementary, Zavala Elementary, two childcare centers, a pre-kindergarten classroom and an early childhood special education classroom to assist students on their academic journeys. Additionally, James visits the UT Childcare Center, where he interacts with children while they are playing freely. James' civic contributions extend beyond visiting local schools. He also has been a part of Marathon Kids, Neighborhood Longhorns, Longhorn Halloween, the Marbridge Foundation, Orange Santa and LEAD of Austin, talking with seventh grade at-risk students about teamwork and leadership qualities. James is a mid-season John R. Wooden Award list member and a preseason Naismith Award candidate. He is a three-year starter who has seen time at all three frontcourt positions prior to his senior season. During his career, James has played in all 108 games, starting all but two. He ranks 18th on the career UT scoring list with 1,306 points scored and is third on the UT career rebounding list with 968 to his name. He enters the year just 110 rebounds shy of becoming the school's all-time

9 leading rebounder. James is fourth in UT history with 37 career double-doubles and seventh with 123 career blocks.

10 Adam Koch (University of Northern Iowa) Koch carries a 3.34 grade point average at Northern Iowa entering his senior season while studying biology/biomedical. He earned ESPN the Magazine all-district honors and is a Missouri Valley Conference first-team Scholar-Athlete selection. Koch speaks at elementary schools with the UNI coaching staff and works with the youth during Panther Pals, a basketball camp for youth who are fans of the Northern Iowa Panthers. He represents Northern Iowa athletics at fundraisers and is a high school retreat leader at Nativity. Koch volunteered his time sandbagging during the summer of 2008 floods in Cedar Falls, Iowa. He also participated in cleanup after an F5 tornado destroyed the town of Parkersburg, Iowa, that same summer. Koch has spoken to kids at Woody Wilson's basketball camps in Green Bay and has volunteered at Christmas tree lots and soup kitchens for the Knights of Columbus. Additionally, he participated in the "Just Read!" program, where he read to elementary students in the Cedar Valley. Koch earned first-team all-missouri Valley honors as a junior and was named to the MVC All-Tournament squad after helping lead the Panthers to the MVC postseason title and an automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament. Also during his junior season, he was a first-team NABC All-District choice and led the squad with 412 points (12.1 points per game). He poured in a team-best 158 free throws out of 205 attempts (77.1 percent) and ranked second on the team with 173 rebounds (5.1 rebounds per game). He had four double-doubles to compliment 20 double-figure outings on the year and scored 17 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in an victory over Chicago State on November 25, Koch also tallied 18 points and secured 12 rebounds in an overtime game versus Iowa State on December 3, He was named the MVC Player of the Week (January 12, 2009) after averaging 17.5 points per game, 10.0 rebounds per game and 4.5 assists per game while shooting 61.6 percent from the field in wins at Creighton and at home over Missouri State. Koch had an impressive streak of 28 consecutive free throws made snapped against Southern Illinois on February 11, 2009, four short of the Panthers' record held by Bill McCoy (32 in a row in ).

11 Chris Kramer (Purdue University) An organizational leadership and supervision major, Kramer boasts a 3.12 cumulative grade point average while managing the time commitments associated with playing basketball at a Big Ten institution. Kramer's work in the classroom also netted him Academic All-Big Ten honors in both 2008 and His career interests outside of playing basketball lie in coaching basketball or becoming a sports agent. In the world of athletics, respect from your peers is often the highest compliment a competitor can receive. With his combination of tenacity, confidence and unparalleled work ethic, Kramer earned that respect early in his collegiate career, as his Purdue teammates voted him a team captain in both his sophomore and junior seasons. Kramer is regarded by his fellow teammates as the ultimate teammate. Despite leading Purdue in assists in both his freshman and sophomore seasons, he volunteered to take on a more defensive role as a junior when the Boilers added playmaking point guard Lewis Jackson to the lineup. In January 2009, Kramer's toughness and dedication to the team were on full display, as he suffered a nasal fracture early in the second half of the Boilermakers' home contest against Michigan, only to return within a matter of minutes and finish with five steals to propel Purdue to an emotional victory. The summer and fall of 2009 have seen Kramer make a total commitment to self-improvement in order to benefit the team. In an effort to improve his stamina at the end of games, the defensive stalwart lost 10 pounds of "bad weight" and focused on improving muscle distribution throughout his core. He also volunteered to hold his individual workouts at the same time as a group of Purdue's non-scholarship players in order to provide guidance and veteran leadership during sessions. In addition to his long history with the Boys and Girls Club, Kramer spent the fall of 2009 making twice-weekly visits to the Lafayette Southside Center. At the center, Kramer donated his time to various causes in the Lafayette area, including child abuse prevention, youth development, the center's food pantry and family support. As part of Purdue's annual participation in the Wooden Tradition, Kramer and his teammates also perform service with the Special Olympics in Indianapolis. Widely regarded as a "warrior" on the court, Kramer has been one of the primary architects of the rejuvenation of Purdue basketball. In the last three seasons, he has helped turn around a team that won just nine games the year before his arrival into a squad that has won at least 20 games in each of the last three seasons, captured the program's first-ever Big Ten Tournament title, reached three straight NCAA Tournaments and advanced to the program's first Sweet 16 in nearly a decade. He has twice been recognized as an all-conference performer, garnering third-team All-Big Ten honors in 2008 and honorable mention accolades in His credentials as one of the nation's top defenders are backed up by his three selections to the Big Ten All-Defensive team in as many collegiate seasons, highlighted by a Big Ten Defensive Player of the Year honor in Heading into his senior season with the Boilermakers, Kramer holds the program record for steals per game (2.2) and ranks second on the career steals chart (214).

12 Raymar Morgan (Michigan State University) Morgan is on pace to finish his bachelor's degree in advertising by the end of his senior season. Morgan was a unanimous selection as a co-captain of this year's Michigan State basketball team. Morgan, along with his teammates, is a regular visitor at area hospitals and schools. He is also part of initiatives where kids burdened with cancer are given candy from the team on Halloween at a local Toys R Us. The team also adopts a needy family each Christmas, buys them gifts, wraps them and finally delivers the gifts to the family. Morgan is a preseason candidate for the John R. Wooden Award, given annually to the most outstanding men's and women's college basketball players. Through three seasons he is averaging 12.0 points per game and 5.6 rebounds per game and has the opportunity to finish in the top 10 in Michigan State history in both statistical categories. His best season came in when he averaged 14.0 points and 6.1 rebounds, earning second-team All-Big Ten honors. Last season, he was on his way to a Big Ten MVP-type season, averaging 15.2 points per game and 6.9 rebounds per game through the season's first 16 games. Unfortunately, Morgan suffered through injuries and illnesses for a majority of the rest of the season, playing more than 20 minutes in just eight of the team's final 22 games.

13 Jon Scheyer (Duke University) Scheyer was a 2009 ACC Academic Honor Roll selection. Scheyer is an outstanding team player who has served as a team captain in two straight seasons ( and ). He respects the fans of Duke basketball by signing autographs after games and out in public. Scheyer is a strong representative of sportsmanship, never saying anything bad about opponents and congratulating opponents on their play after wins or losses. Scheyer has made several trips to the Duke Children's Hospital to talk to kids during his first three years at Duke. He is very active in the Read with the Blue Devils program, going to elementary schools to read to kids and encourage the importance of reading and getting a good education. In addition, Scheyer was a guest speaker at Durham School Days, talking with kids about making good choices in day-to-day life in front of 300 local eighth grade students. He has also worked at local basketball camps during the summers. Scheyer has played well for Duke this season as he finds his name on the mid-season list for the John R. Wooden Award. A Bob Cousy Award finalist for nation's top point guard, Scheyer is averaging 13.0 points per game in 104 career games through his first three seasons at Duke. He ranks 32nd on the Duke all-time list with 1,349 career points and is one of 59 players in school history with 1,000 career points. Also, Scheyer is one of the top free throw shooters in the nation and ranks eighth in ACC history and third at Duke with a career free throw percentage of 85.4 percent. He ranks 17th at Duke with 187 career made three point field goals, shooting 37.9 percent from long range in his career. Scheyer also ranks 26th at Duke with 246 assists and 23rd with 143 career steals. He has 76 career double-figure scoring games with 15 of those games being 20 or more point efforts. Scheyer was named the ACC Tournament MVP on Duke's 2009 ACC Championship team, averaging 21.7 points per game in the tournament. He was an ACC All-Freshman team selection in and averaged 12.2 points per game in his first season at Duke.

14 Josh Young (Drake University) A two-time Missouri Valley Conference Scholar-Athlete honoree, Young currently holds a 3.14 grade point average in management and marketing, with a concentration in insurance. Young interned with Wells Fargo Financial in summer 2008 in its Global Marketing Division where he shadowed senior leaders, participated in discussions/improvement regarding global marketing and sales target models and developed enhance United Way participation strategies. A second year captain going into the season, Young is seen as a leader in both word and deed. His peers and coaches alike recognize his influence on team chemistry and appreciate his high standards in practice and competition. The personable Young is easily recognized by statewide media as the most professionally prepared student-athlete in Iowa when it comes to conducting interviews. Young is also engaged with the Student-Athlete Advisory Council, serving as a member of the Missouri Valley Conference SAAC. He was a key speaker during Welcome Weekend, which was an orientation event for first-year students this fall. Young understands his visibility as a role model and has been involved in the Bulldog Reading Program, designed to stress the importance of reading at the elementary school level, since He has visited Des Moines Methodist Hospital, sharing compassion with both youth and elderly patients during their stays. Also, he was part of a team of student-athletes who addressed youth regarding team unity as part of the Counts in Iowa program. In his first three years at Drake, Young led his team to a overall record, including the Missouri Valley Conference regular season and tournament titles in and Drake's first appearance in the NCAA Tournament since Named to the preseason All-Missouri Valley Conference team by coaches and media, during his senior season he became Drake's career leader in scoring. Throughout his career, Young has been named to second-team ( ), first-team ( ), All-Freshman and Newcomer team ( ) Missouri Valley Conference honors. He was the only player in the Missouri Valley Conference to be named to the U.S. Basketball Writers Association All-District VI team in both 2008 and In , Young garnered recognition on the CollegeHoops.net fourth-team high-major All-American squad while leading the MVC in per game scoring average.